Life Technologies Corporation (NASDAQ: LIFE) and Advanced Cell Diagnostics, Inc. (ACD), a leader in the field of molecular pathology and developer of cell and tissue-based analysis tools, recently announced a global distribution agreement by which Life will distribute ACD’s fluorescent RNAscope® portfolio of probes and kits to the research market through its worldwide distribution network.

Almac recently announced they are now offering a Tumor Profiling service running Illumina’s next-generation sequencing (NGS) TruSight Tumor™ panel as part of their biomarker discovery, development and delivery solutions.

Almac, a personalised medicine company with CAP accredited and CLIA certified laboratories, extends their portfolio of services by offering TruSight Tumor™ to complement its current range of RNA, DNA and protein based technologies for biomarker analysis.

Almac is currently running many bespoke diagnostic assays for pharma customers for early phase clinical trial enrichment. The TruSight Tumor™ panel enables additional profiling of these patient samples to provide Almac’s pharma partners with further important information on emerging biomarkers that may also impact drug response.The TruSight Tumor™ panel was developed by Illumina for their MiSeq® system, allowing targeted DNA sequencing and reporting on the mutation status of 26 genes which are most commonly mutated in solid tumors including lung, colon, ovarian, melanoma and gastric cancers.

One of Almac’s key strengths is many years of experience in working with formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue. The TruSight Tumor™ panel is specifically designed for use with FFPE samples, and enables the highest levels of sensitivity for mutation detection with limited DNA input requirements.

“Almac is committed to the development of personalised medicine through the delivery of a wide range of innovative solutions. We are pleased to announce the expansion of our NGS service to include TruSight Tumor™” said Professor Paul Harkin, President and Managing Director of Almac’s Diagnostic business unit.

Mayo Clinic researchers have shown that a specific protein pair may be a successful prognostic biomarker for identifying smoking-related lung cancers. The protein — ASCL1 — is associated with increased expression of the RET oncogene, a particular cancer-causing gene called RET. The findings appear in the online issue of the journal Oncogene.

“This is exciting because we’ve found what we believe to be a ‘drugable target’ here,” says George Vasmatzis, Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic molecular medicine researcher and senior author on the study. “It’s a clear biomarker for aggressive adenocarcinomas. These are the fast-growing cancer cells found in smokers’ lungs.”

ASCL1 is known to control neuroendocrine cell development and was previously linked to regulation of thyroid and small cell lung cancer development, but not smoking-related lung cancer. The research also showed that patients with ASCL1 tumors with high levels of the RET oncogene protein did not survive as long as ASCL1 patients with low levels of RET.

When researchers blocked the ASCL1 protein in lung cancer cell lines expressing both genes, the level of RET decreased and tumor growth slowed. This leads researchers to believe this mechanism will be a promising target for potential drugs and a strong candidate for clinical trials.

Exosome Diagnostics recently announced it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) for biomarker discovery and validation using Exosome Diagnostics proprietary EXO50 nucleic acid extraction kit. Under the agreement, Lilly will gain early access to Exosome Diagnostics technology to help identify key gene mutations and expression levels in blood that may be correlated with drug response and disease recurrence. Financial terms were not disclosed.

“Exosome Diagnostics technology may provide a unique opportunity to gain insight into the biology of complex conditions such as cancer and immune disorders,” said Andrew Schade, senior medical director, diagnostic and experimental pathology at Lilly. “Exosome technology enables biofluid molecular sampling and the ability to monitor disease progression in real time. As Lilly explores new ways to pursue patient tailoring, we’ll continue to work with partners to expand our capabilities.”

“Accessing high quality messenger and microRNA directly from frozen patient fluid samples offers a rapid, cost-effective route to identify and validate biomarkers, which may be correlated with drug response and disease recurrence,” said James McCullough, chief executive officer of Exosome Diagnostics. “Lilly has accumulated an extensive and well annotated clinical blood sample biobank that provides a unique opportunity to track target biomarkers through the clinical trial process and help overcome the limitations of stored biopsy tissue.”

Exosomes and other microvesicles are secreted by all cells into all biofluids, and provide a natural biological packaging and distribution mechanism for RNA and DNA. Exosome Diagnostics’ rapid exosome isolation and extraction technology produces high-quality RNA and DNA, including full length mRNA and microRNA, from small volumes of patient biofluids, such as blood (serum and plasma), urine and cerebrospinal fluid, for analysis by standard PCR, array and sequencing instruments. Analysis can be performed on fresh or frozen fluid samples, allowing for broad, flexible and convenient analyses of clinical trial samples, both in real-time and retrospectively, with no special preservation methods required. Exosomes and their protected nucleic acid contents are being investigated in a broad range of diseases including cancer, CNS disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, cardiovascular disease, maternal/fetal medicine, and chronic kidney disease, among others. In July, QIAGEN and Exosome Diagnostics signed an agreement for the creation of High-Performance Biofluid Sample Preparation Kits for Personalized Healthcare Research which covers the exclusive supply of these products upon availability in 2014.

From Promise to Practice is the title and the main message of the second annual Individualizing Medicine Conference at Mayo Clinic, Sept. 30-Oct. 2. Physicians from more than 40 states and several countries will be arriving in Minnesota to hear and learn about the latest developments and research in genomic research and how to move these discoveries into the medical practice. “Our goal is to inform practicing physicians, but other care providers, students, media and the public as well,” says Richard Weinshilboum, M.D., chair of this year’s conference held by Mayo Clinic’s Center for Individualized Medicine. “Individualizing prevention, diagnosis and treatment is the core of medical genomics and the future of medicine. Even if you missed the last 13 years since the mapping of the human genome, we’ll help you catch up in three days.”

Opening keynote speaker on Monday, September 30, will be Eric Green, M.D., Ph.D., director of the National Institute of Genomic Health Research, Bethesda, M.D. Co-hosts for the conference will be Richard Besser, M.D., chief health and medical editor for ABC News and former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control, and Ceci Connolly, managing director of the Health Research Institute, PwC.

The conference offers expert speakers, focused breakout sessions, and real-life case studies so participants can discover and discuss emerging topics in medical genomics. Topics range from translating genomic findings into clinical care to communicating accurately and ethically with patients. Also this year, on Sunday, Sept. 29, an “Omics 101” seminar will be offered at a lay level for those new to individualized medicine. This course is being offered separately and is ideal for students and media who will be working in or reporting on the genomics field.

Individualized medicine is a growing field of patient care based on the increasing knowledge of the human genome, mapped just a decade ago. Mayo Clinic is a leader in transferring medical genomics to medical practice clinomics as evidenced by its Individualized Medicine Clinic, launched a year ago. Mayo’s Center for Individualized Medicine also includes programs in biomarker discovery, pharmacogenomics, epigenomics and the human microbiome.